This invention relates to providing a system for improved collection and containment of fluids, such as oils, that commonly drip from an aircraft during service maintenance operations and during normal periods of storage.
Typically, aircraft engines as well as other internal combustion engines employ oil, whether natural or synthetic, and sometimes other fluids for lubrication and cooling. When the aircraft is parked in a hangar or tied down on a tarmac, these fluids will commonly leak from the engine compartment, normally in small quantities. Even in small amounts, these fluids will collect on the parking pavement. The pavement surface, usually asphalt, absorbs these petroleum drippings and is affected by that absorption to the detriment and degradation of the parking surface and even of the environment.
In addition, part of the pre-flight inspection of aircraft by the crew before departure requires that small quantities of fuel be drained from the tanks and inspected to assure all condensed moisture is removed, and to confirm that the fuel is the proper grade and octane for the engines in the aircraft. In the past, this drained fuel has been discarded by being thrown on the pavement. This practice is no longer acceptable in these environmentally conscious times and is now forbidden by most airport management and environmental authorities, or frequently illegal.
A need has arisen for a means to dispose of or collect these residues safely and conveniently.
Since the engine compartment is normally above the nose wheel of single engine aircraft and commonly adjacent the main landing gear wheels of twin-engine aircraft, drip pans intended for use by automobiles cannot be used, not having an accommodation for the wheel.